Montana man hooked up on local warrant

SANDPOINT — A man living near Montana’s Glacier National Park was recently arrested by a Flathead County Sheriff’s SWAT team on a warrant from Bonner County.

The Hungry Horse News reported that Billy Don Cummings was arrested without incident at his home on Feb. 13. Cummings was reportedly wanted on Bonner County charges alleging sexual abuse of a minor.

Cummings, 48, was arrested a day after an associate fatally wounded himself with sawed-off .22-caliber rifle as he was leaving Cummings’ home, the newspaper reported. Tyson Armijo was carrying the illegally modified firearm when he slipped on snow and ice, causing it to discharge.

Armijo, 22, was shot below the right eye and died the following day, according to the paper. Armijo was reportedly moving guns from Cummings’ home when the accident happened.

The Bonner County warrant pending against Cummings was discovered during the shooting investigation.

Cummings was charged here with lewd conduct with a minor in 1993 for allegedly fondling and engaging in other sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl. He later pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in a plea agreement with the state, court records here indicate.

Cummings was given a suspended sentence of five to 15 years with retained jurisdiction, which made him eligible for probation after serving six months in prison. He was accused of violating probation at least twice, most recently in 1996 when he admitted stealing hand tools and other items while employed at the former Kmart in Ponderay.

One of the last filings in Cummings’ case is a bench warrant signed by a district judge in 1996. The warrant, however, is date-stamped Feb. 14, the day after his arrest in Hungry Horse. It was unclear Friday if the Idaho charges cited in the news report were new ones or a reference to the pending bench warrant.

The News reported that Cummings faces possible weapon and identity theft charges in Montana.